


the gold of kings .

by Banshee (Nashnktora)



Category: Darksiders (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Being a Human in this Apocalypse is hard., Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Platonic Relationships, Reader referred to as They / Them but otherwise unspecified., Vulgrim is a greedy bastard., human reader, literally nothing happens in the first chapter.
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2019-07-06
Packaged: 2020-06-22 08:31:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19663636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nashnktora/pseuds/Banshee
Summary: It dances before your vision like a serpent charmed, stark contrast against city turned rotten.





	the gold of kings .

**Author's Note:**

> Heya ! Know that this is not intended to be a long-running story and instead serves more of a first draft / testing the waters for myself, to get into writing more actively. 
> 
> Cohesive stories are not my strongsuit, and not much is happening yet, but I intend to learn and hope you enjoy regardless !

Just another fool clinging to all things lost, defiant in the face of an ending foretold. Is that how they see you? These creatures beyond reach of mortal comprehension, with their gnashing teeth and lashing tails. Such terrifying visage, yet no less inviting than feathers slicing through putrid air with righteous fury set ablaze by a conflict eons old. What strange sight these warring factions are to one so far below cosmic hierarchy, scurrying from one corner to another much like the many creatures 'neath own boot. How many unseen lives has your mere existence taken? Thoughts begin to wander as daylight retreats.

But you have not been crushed just yet, holding fast against a once generous world consumed by nightmares. Familiar, perhaps, from fiction and religion alike, but what words could ever stand equal before terror manifest? So much to contemplate, perhaps it is a twisted form of mercy to every day be occupied 'till weary body demands rest with nay time for your mind to wander far. A routine you have fallen into by design, always different in detail but the same at its heart. 

Daylight makes way for the night, and you thought naught to change. 

Like so often before were vicious hounds lost among intricate maze of crumbling city, their guttural howls and snapping jaws left to threaten the air behind a building's fallen rubble, its gaps almost too narrow even for you. But what are bruises and scuffs, perhaps a burning cut, in face of an alternative you have imagined as many times as you have escaped? The hungry maw of a wolf seems a kindness in comparison to creatures fueled by cruelty, hunting not for survival but simple sport. 

You know not if there is truth to such impression, and sometimes curiosity rears its head, but what does it matter? **Nothing** , a rational voice chimes, ever occupied with seeing the next sunrise. It is the same voice that keeps you running another good minute past collapsed passage and along grand walls, carrying exhausted body away from known danger with darkness as your only companion. Somewhere high in the sky you glimpse the gentle light of mother moon suffocating behind a thick blanket and you struggle to determine whether it be dark clouds or a veil of smoke from fires burning ever since the end had begun.

Hers was no longer a light you could depend on, thankful to be graced with even a sliver. 

Frightful sprinting gradually slows to a steady pace, ever watchful of surroundings so familiar yet foreign, illuminated by flames licking away at building and vehicles alike. You knew this square, once upon a time. Before... _everything_. Before its humanity was purged and nature moved to reclaim all that had been taken. Though it felt like eternity, hardly has it been long, and one can easily harbor respect, if not reverence, for how quickly the earth truly grows when left alone. At any other time, in any other situation, it would surely be a wonderful place to relax.

Alas, indulging thoughts of nostalgia was not how you evaded death's grasp at every corner. You dearly hoped tonight would be no different, determined to leave hunched shadow and crawling figures to their own. _Observant and calm_ , a reminder to frantic heart and tight lungs as you step past comforting shadow of towering walls. More directions to escape, right? This was not your first time in such a situation, and it must not become the last. If only that made it easier to bear and quicker to pass. And for a moment, you think to run. But can you afford such a move? Options are weighted against patience and instincts alike, and you almost miss it. 

Reflecting but a sliver of moonlight, it catches your attention. 

There, mere feet from you, away from all things horrifying, it sways with nay care from bare branch of a tree struggling to rise from underneath concrete rubble. Edged spiral clutching cyan orb, talisman most dazzling as though made for the wealthy with its spotless gleam in gold. How enticing a jingle it gives, and curious eyes catch thrice-present chains dangling from an already intricate piece. Exhausted conscience thinks them to hold lunar shapes, gentle curve not unlike grand mother in dark skies this night. 

There is something... _familiar_ about this sight. Dancing before your vision like a serpent charmed, stark contrast against city turned rotten. Your thoughts grow hazy, and your feet begin to move. One step after the other, away from dreadful square and towards lonely talisman. With utmost care reaches an inquisitive hand heavenward, fingers sore and dirtied from survival drawing closer, only to stop mere inches before their target. 

Do you dare ? 

_Oh weary human, compare thy broken self to creation divine. The gold of kings beset with priceless eye, ne'er meant for touch of a peasant groveling in the streets like lowest rat._

A blink, then two. Such invasive thoughts, your conscience recoils and with both eyes closed, you give your head a firm shake: _begone!_ Like naught more but smoke, physical retort serves to jumble and ultimately dispel unwanted appraisal. An odd occurrence, yet hardly unknown, is it? But a grown ache stops all thought and instead signals you to lower an arm raised longer than deemed comfortable, cradled gently atop the other. Finally you tear focused gaze away, past amalgamation of wood and stone, witness to true might of nature's fallen child and humanity's crumbled creation. 

What behemoth of a tree, reduced to lie among what remains of the walls it undoubtedly tore from the towering building just beyond when cosmic conflict brought low a giant most gentle. A battlefield in its own right, perhaps. Your eyes lift to grand skycraper, damaged but standing, baring its very foundations to the world. One room after the other rid of its privacy, a truly strange sight to behold. Though details are blurred by nocturnal darkness, imagination and experience alike paint a picture true enough. 

Ah, but what is that? Far below intimidating heights, beyond chaos and destruction. Cautiously you step forward, following along the rubble towards towering building. Monstrous though the scale of it all, fortune rears its head as an ally when its favor allows for your human frame to fit below grand wood and between shattered rock. A narrow spot where sharp edges and twisted branches grasp at clothing and skin alike, but naught concept unknown to a soul long accustomed to such minor nuisance. Thus unhindered you tread on with humane resolve. 

There, a fair distance ahead, dangling from an arch carved by disaster into daunting entrance. You have seen it before in simple passing. A trinket too insignificant at the time, another unexplained oddity cast forth like so many others. 

Golden gleam and gentle chime, tonight you deign to follow.

**Author's Note:**

> If you've made it this far, thank you! I'd love to hear your thoughts, and very much intend to make the second chapter longer.
> 
> If you have any preference which Horseman to include, let me know!


End file.
